


wasn't there a place for me inside your heart

by RomanceAddiction



Series: Stay With Me [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-20
Updated: 2016-06-11
Packaged: 2018-05-15 04:39:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5771650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RomanceAddiction/pseuds/RomanceAddiction
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Oliver's plan had worked?</p><p>Canon divergence from the Season 3 finale. Warning: here there be angst.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Light Burns

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Stay With Me](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/170161) by cherchersketch. 



 

The light burns red through his eyelids.

Distantly, he hears the sound of waves crashing against the shore. There was a time when it would have made him panic, conjuring up nightmares of the horrific night at sea which changed his life forever. Now, all he feels is a sense of calm, something he has not felt in a long time.

He opens his eyes at the touch of her hand above his.

“It really is gorgeous here.” Her voice is like the most beautiful melody. He never thought he would get to hear it again. The smile she gives him outshines the brilliance of the sunset to their left.

As the sun finally dips below the horizon, giving way to a dark expanse of twinkling stars, she looks down to consult the map on her phone.

“So, where are we headed next? Ooh we could go visit Barry and the rest of Team Flash in Central City.”

He smiles as he guides the silver Porsche back onto the long, winding road.

“It doesn’t matter as long as I’m with you.

 

* * *

 

The light burns red through his eyelids.

The sound of sirens blast harshly in his ear. He futilely clings to the last remnants of his dream, wishing he never had to wake. He clenches his fists where they rest on his thigh. 

He opens his eyes at the sudden lurch of the plane.

“What’s happening?” Ra’s walks forward to the cockpit.

Wrestling with the controls, the pilot looks over his shoulder and exclaims in frustration,” The engines are down. We’re trying to compensate but they’ve been tampered with.”

Ra’s whirls around in rage, eyes falling to Nyssa. “Sabotage!”

Oliver glances at Nyssa, giving her a slight nod of acknowledgement. It is time.

He stands up, unsheathing his sword.


	2. A sense of dread

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She feels a sense of dread deep in her bones.

  

  She feels a sense of dread deep in her bones. Before, they learnt of Ra’s plan to destroy Starling City, before Malcolm Merlyn brought a strange woman from Oliver’s past to convince them to work with him. Even before she’d looked into the cold eyes of Ol-… Al Sah-Him as he walked away, leaving her and the rest of the team to die in the dark dungeons of Nanda Parbat. It had started the moment she’s pulled away from him after their first night together. She had done all she could and yet, her plan had failed and Oliver was still trapped within the League of Assassins.

  She hears Malcolm Merlyn instruct them on what to do in case Oliver’s first plan to take down Ra’s, whatever it was, failed. Nobody moved, in defiance, until Diggle begrudgingly consented to his idea.

  Felicity stares down at the countless monitors in front of her. She should be alive here in her element, taking down the bad guys from behind a computer screen with her badass hacking skills. Yet, her whole body feels like lead. Her hands feel too jittery over the keyboard. Her eyes feel blurry staring at the computer screens.

  Looking out the windows, at the towering skyline of the city, she hears herself mutter under her breath, “Where are you, Oliver?”

* * *

 

  He feels a sense of dread deep in his bones. Oliver knew he was prepared, that everything came down to this moment. He’d gone over his plan with Malcolm, with Nyssa. It all came down to this moment.

  He interrupts Ra’s babbles of some ancient prophecy as he declares, to Ra’s and to himself, “My name is Oliver Queen.”

  Oliver feels no hesitation as he grips tightly on to the sword that once pierced his side and defends himself against Ra’s attack. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see that Nyssa has no trouble handling the other League of Assassins members on board the small aircraft. She fights quickly and efficiently, culling them without a second thought. There is someone else she is more eager to kill.

  Oliver quickly sidesteps as Ra’s sword narrowly misses slicing off his left ear. Now is not the time to think about the other elements of his plan. For now, he has to focus on the task at hand, taking down the Demon in front of him. He is grateful for the smaller area inside the plane. For all his intensive training in the past few months, Ra’s has had years and years of experience ahead of him. The smaller area is but a tiny disadvantage but for Oliver, even a miniscule drop in Ra’s abilities is a great help.

 

  The sound of metal clashing with metal echoes through the plane, drowning out the wail of the plane sirens. It continues its descent even though the pilot is desperately trying to stabilize it. Nyssa has her sword trained on him while Oliver fights Ra’s. She is restless and itching to get back to the fight but Oliver had insisted they needed to take advantage of the right opportunity. They both knew Ra’s was too slippery and cunning to be taken lightly.

  Yet, Nyssa can see that Oliver is slowly losing to Ra’s. He is still too inexperienced. With a quick swipe of Ra’s hand, Oliver soon loses his sword, watching it land right in front of Nyssa. Cursing the plan, which she had doubted from the start since she still did not trust Malcolm Merlyn, she kills the pilot in one quick slash. She can see Oliver giving her a quick glance and shaking his head slightly, as if telling her to back off for now, even though he still has his hands raised in surrender, Ra’s sword trained squarely at his chest.  She will have none of that. Nyssa is a proud member of the League of Assassins and she will not listen to the empty words of an outsider, even if he is the current Heir to the Demon. To hell with waiting around for the right moment.

 

  Just as she takes a step forward, the right moment presents itself as the plane suddenly lurches to one side. Sensing his opportunity, Oliver grabs the sword that was pointed on him as Ra’s stumbles from the sudden jerk of the plane. Using the same move that Ra’s had on him months ago on that snowy mountaintop, Oliver stabs the Demon in his side. Without giving him a moment to recover, Oliver spins him around and holds him back by the neck and torso.

  “Nyssa, now!”

  There is no hesitation. Nyssa knows what has to be done, what she has been looking forward to since the day she was stripped of her title as Heir to the Demon. She does not hesitate; she knows what the plan entails. That there are some sacrifices to be made when taking down one as experienced as Ra’s al Ghul. She tells herself it is not a twinge of pity she feels as she sees a desperate man holding back the rage of the one she used to call her father.

In one lunge, Nyssa’s sword pierces through the Demon of the League of Assassins. And his Heir.

* * *

 

 

  The sense of dread grows stronger everyday but Felicity tries to reassure herself, her fingers typing furiously over the keyboard.

  “Wait for us Oliver, we will save you.”


	3. Resolution (?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A million thoughts run through Felicity’s head. She attempts to count backwards to calm herself.
> 
> 3\. 2. 1.  
> Oliver is safe. He has to be.

   Felicity types frantically, trying out every algorithm she can to track down Ra’s whereabouts, blinking back the tears which blur her vision. It is a race against time but she will not fail Oliver. They will get him back, even if it involves working with the horrible Malcolm Merlyn. They will—

*BOOM*

  A loud explosion from outside interrupts her train of thought. She turns to the window as a large cloud of smoke blooms in the night sky. Is that…an aeroplane? Exploding?

  A million thoughts run through Felicity’s head. She attempts to count backwards to calm herself.

  1. 2\. 1.



  Oliver is safe. He has to be. Maybe he found a way to defeat Ra’s. Maybe he blew the plane up. Maybe Ra’s was killed, or at the very least, majorly injured. Maybe—

  Once again, her train of thought is interrupted as the proximity alarms start going off. Felicity immediately turns to the glass doors of the room. It’s Oliver. It has to be. She knew it. No matter what, Oliver would always find his way back to her.

  There is a crash from above. The ceiling gives way as a dark figure drops down in front of them. It is—

  Nyssa.

  The female assassin holds her hands up in surrender, even as she glares at Malcolm. “I come in peace.”

  Slowly, Nyssa reaches into one of the pouches around her waist, her other hand still raised in a gesture of peace. She steps towards Felicity.

  Ray and Laurel immediately step forward, as if to protect Felicity. She waves them away with a slight shake of her head. Felicity can see that Nyssa has genuinely come in peace. She cannot pinpoint the odd expression on the other woman’s face. Like a mixture of pity and sorrow.

  In one corner, Malcolm merely observes the scene, arms crossed.

 

  Nyssa holds out a hand to Felicity. Stepping closer, she unfurls it. It’s a stone arrowhead, attached to a length of rough twine. Felicity vaguely recognises it as the talisman that Oli- Al Saheem wore around his neck. Extending both hands, Felicity accepts the offering which Nyssa gently drops onto her open palms.

  The top of the arrowhead is smooth to the touch, yet she can feel the underside is rough and indented, as if there is an engraving of some sort. Hesitant, Felicity picks up the arrowhead and turns it around.

  The thoughts she had been suppressing for the past few days rush out. It was logical really. There was no other reason Nyssa had arrived alone. No other reason she would be the one presenting her with Oliver’s talisman. Not unless he was…he…

  Felicity can feel the strength leaving her legs. She drops down to the floor, unsure of what to do, what to say.

**Red.**

* * *

_Stay with me_  
_We were never meant to be apart_

_Stay with me_

 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is a companion to my fancomic here (( http://cherchersketch.tumblr.com/post/137623685168/stay-with-me-arrow-season-3-au-what-if-olivers ))
> 
> Please do check it out ^^
> 
> Partially inspired by the song "Stay With Me" by Black English.
> 
> And I finally got around to completing this short series UwU  
> I do have a sequel planned, involving the Earth-2 Arrowverse, so do stay tuned ^^  
> Hope you enjoyed this short little series for now. Sorry it took so long to be completed X.X

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is a companion to my fancomic here (( http://cherchersketch.tumblr.com/post/137623685168/stay-with-me-arrow-season-3-au-what-if-olivers ))
> 
> Please do check it out ^^ 
> 
> Partially inspired by the song "Stay With Me" by Black English.


End file.
